Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-12-01

tice he was taken into partnership by one
of the most noted lawyers of Kentucky, 8
man who had perhaps the largest practice
in the state, but no order whatsoever. He
kept his papers in q barrel and would
turn them over whenever he wanted any
document until he came to the right one
One day he went off on the circuit, and
Beck's old partner, thinking to do a nice
thing, hunted the papers all out and care
fully labeled them and put them alpha
betically in order. When the old judge
came home he looked at the neatly ar
ranged pile and then strobe up and down
the room with feelings apparently too
deep for utterance. He said nothing,
however, and left the office. When he
next came in he handed his young man a
check and told him that that represented
his share of the business up to that time
and that the partnership was dissolved.
He then bundled his papers back into
the barrel and was happy. When
Beck came home he said to his clerk: "My
boy, you are an old maid, and if you don't
stop this internal order | will have to get
rid of you. Great minds can't run like
machines, and we don't want any of the
cogwheel business about this office"
1t is a good deal so with Lamar, save
that he has system among his subordi-
mates, and though he does not work in
this way himself he knows how to make
others work. He keeps the entire run of
the department., and l looked over the
system today. Every bureau and divis-
ion gives him, as l have said, a report of
each matter which has been before it and
what has been done as to it by the depart
ment. These are so arranged that one
can see at glance just how any matter
stands, and they are handed over to La
mar printed on the typewriter. He looks
over them, files them and can tell you
anything about any part of the depart
ment at moments notice. AS to APP
pointments, he has all letters briefed for
him, and this is SO with much other mat
ter which comes before the interior In
this way he saves himself days of work,
and in the case of presidential appoint
ments the president is always furnished
briefs of the various recommendations
and the status of mans character
President Cleveland is not always salts
fled with the briefs alone, and some
times calls for the letters. In the more
important matters Secretary Lamar d.
tates these briefs himself. The extent of
this work can be appreciated only by en-
tcring the appointment division of the
interior department. A large room is
AAAiSNA AAoAii hool " Wiling WIFI pigeon
holes, and each of these pigeon holes is
packed full of recommendations for
appointments to office. They are all
carefully classified, perfectly access
siOle and the applications are kept on file
for years. Since 1S49 the system has
been in use, and | doubt not if the papers
were gone over it would be found that
many men now prominent have asked for
employment under the government in
their earlier days.
Lamar is as irregular in his habits Of
life as he is in his work. He has the
stomach of an ostrich and his digestive
organs are such that they will grind I'D
almost any kind of food into life giving
blood. He is not regular as to his meals,
and he is liable to take his lunch at 10
O'Clock in the morning, in the afternoon
or ii at night, just as the case may be-
He is not gastronOmc, and he often for
gets his meals altogether. His chief clerk,
Col. Jonas, tells me an incident of this
which occurred while he was in the
United States senate. He met Lamar
coming out of the senate chamber one
evening with most disguised look on his
face. He said: II am sick and am going
up into Maryland for two or three days"
Col Jonas, who was then his private
secretary, knowing his habits, asked him
II he had had his lunch. Lamar replied that
he had not, that he had become interest
cd III something and that he had forgotten
all about it. Jonas then asked him if he
had eaten any breakfast, and Lamar re-
Piled no, that he had intended to break
fast ut the senote, but was so busy that
he had not done So Upon further in
quiry it was found that he had not eaten
any supper the night before for some
reason, and it was now about O'Clock in
the evening following Mr.. Jonas said:
1T is easy to see what is tho matter with
you, senator. You are not sick at all;
you are only hungry and weak You
have not eaten anything for two DAYS,
and it is no wonder that you feel badly.
All you want is a good dinner"
Lamar thought SO too and he at once
proposed that they 20 and get something
to eat They entered n little hotel near
the baltimore and Ohio railroad depot,
and upon Lamar calling for a dinner the
landlord replied that he had nothing
cooked except some hard boiled eggs and
sandwiches, Lamar did not like the
looks of the fly spccked sandwiches, but
he made savage attack on the hard
boiled eggs. He ate nine of these, wash
ing them down with two bottles of ginger
ale, and when he got through he said he
1elt tlplop. lie made no further mention
of his sickness or trip to Maryland, and
apparently had no trouble in the digestion
of the hard boiled eggs"
Nevertheless Lamar likes a GOOD dim
ncr, though he rarely orders one himself.
1t may be that Lamar's admiration for
newspapers arises from the fact that the
only failure Of his life was in connection
with newspaper work He tells the story
in very loughable way. Shortly after
the war closed Sam Thompson, the editor
OF The Oxford Falcon, came to Lamar
and asked him to furnish leading edi-
lorlal for his paper once week. Lamar
thought the newspaper then his sphere
and he agreed to the proposition. He had
great ideas Of reforming the press; that
the press was a power, and evidently
thought that the Lamar editorial would
turn Mississippi upside down and that in
its Ecw position it would be nothing else
but true, beautiful and good. He then
commenced TO grind out his editorial by
the yard, and he says: AT first Victor
came himself after my manuscript. The
second week or SO he sent boy and the
third or fourth week l had 10 send nv
down by messenger. In
the meantime it had been advertised ill
over the country that the noted L. q. G..